A method for protecting a sensor and sensor data of the sensor from manipulation is described in German Patent Application No. DE 10 2009 002 396 A1, in which a random number is transmitted from a control unit to the sensor within the scope of an authentication of the sensor. The sensor data are provided with a cryptographic integrity protection on the one hand, and additional time-variant parameters are added to the sensor data on the other hand. The sensor data are transmitted together with the integrity protection and the added time-variant parameters from the sensor to the control unit. The random number, or a portion of the random number, or a number obtained from the random number with the aid of a function, is used for the time-variant parameters during the authentication of the sensor.
In this way, both the identity of the sensor and the integrity of the data transmitted by the sensor are protected.